City of Anaheim Architectural Style Guide: American Colonial Revival
Prepared for City of Anaheim Planning and Building Department Anaheim, CA
Prepared by Architectural Resources Group
June 9, 2020 American Colonial Revival Chapter Overview
This Architectural Style Guide is a reference tool for owners and managers of historic American Colonial Revival buildings. You can use this document to identify the features and materials that define your building’s historic character. In cases where you wish to make changes to your building, this guide will help you determine compatible features and materials. This guide supplements the Citywide Historic Preservation Plan (2010) by providing more detailed information specific to the preservation of Anaheim’s American Colonial Revival properties. It should be noted that the information described herein is meant to provide general guidance regarding the appropriate treatment of American Colonial Revival buildings. Owners should consult with the City on applicable planning and zoning requirements before making any changes to their historic American Colonial Revival properties.
What’s Inside...
Historical Background...... 1 Character-Defining Features...... 2 Additional Examples of the Style...... 3 Roofs...... 5 Cladding and Foundations...... 6 Chimneys and Dormers...... 7 Entrances...... 8 Doors...... 9 Windows...... 11 Awnings, Window Screens, and Shutters...... 12 Decorative Elements...... 13 Lighting...... 13 Paint Color Schemes...... 14 Garages...... 15 Fences and Gates...... 16 Additions and Accessory Dwelling Units...... 17 American Colonial Revival Historical Background
The American Colonial Revival style emerged in the late 1800s in response to a renewed interest in the architecture of 18th-century colonial America, which was in turn influenced by the architecture of mid-18th-century England as well as that of ancient Greece and Rome. The Philadelphia Centennial (1876) and World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago (1893) helped to popularize the style throughout the country. Early examples of American Colonial Revival architecture were rarely historically accurate reproductions of colonial buildings, but rather loose interpretations of their colonial precedents. It was not until the early 1900s that more authentic reproductions developed, made possible by new printing methods and subsequently the mass dissemination of photographs in periodicals and books. The Great Depression of the 1930s and changing aesthetic preferences following World War II led to a simplification of the style in the 1940s and 1950s. Though the American Colonial Revival style was commonly applied to residential as well as commercial and institutional buildings, most examples in Anaheim are residential.1 Other architectural styles will sometimes feature stylistic elements from the American Colonial Revival idiom. For example, in Anaheim, it is common to see symmetrical Craftsman bungalows with round porch columns, eave returns, and pediments, and Minimal Traditional and Ranch houses employing pilasters and shutters.
750 N. Clementine St.
1 Virginia Savage McAlester, A Field Guide to American Houses: The Definitive Guide to Identifying and Understanding America’s Domestic Architecture (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2013), 320-341. City of Anaheim Architectural Style Guide I 1 American Colonial Revival Character-Defining Features
• One, one-and-a-half, or two stories in • Central entrances (See Page 8) height • Wood front doors, typically paneled with • Simple massing and symmetrical façades decorative surrounds (See Pages 9-10) • Medium-pitched side gable or hipped • Multi-light, double-hung wood windows, roofs, typically with boxed eaves (See sometimes with shutters (See Page 11) Page 5) • Classical detailing, including columns, • Wood shingle or composition shingle pilasters, pediments, and dentils (See Page roofing (See Page 5) 13) • Roof dormers (See Page 7) • Sub-styles include Early American Colonial Revival, Late American Colonial Revival, • Brick chimneys (See Page 7) Georgian Revival, and Dutch Colonial • Wood clapboard or brick, or sometimes Revival (See Pages 3-4) wood shingle, shiplap, or stucco wall cladding (See Page 6)
Wood or Side gable roof Brick composition chimney with boxed Dormers shingle roofing eaves
One-and-a- half stories (sometimes one or two stories) in height
Multi-light double- Wood shingle Paneled front Projecting porch hung windows with wall cladding door, centered supported by shutters on the façade columns City of Anaheim Architectural Style Guide I 2 American Colonial Revival Additional Examples of the Style
One Story
Side-gable roof, recessed stoop Side-gable roof, recessed stoop
One-and-a-Half Story
Side-gable roof, projecting porch Side-gable roof, full-width porch
Two Story
Side-gable roof, entrance stoop Side-gable roof, double-height porch
City of Anaheim Architectural Style Guide I 3 American Colonial Revival Variations
Early and Late American Colonial Revival Early American Colonial Revival buildings (built in the early 1900s through 1940) and Late American Colonial Revival buildings (mid-1940s through the 1950s) share many of the same characteristics, though early examples are more likely to have hipped as well as gable roofs (later examples are predominantly gable).
Early American Colonial Revival Late American Colonial Revival
Georgian Revival Two stories Brick cladding
Typically five windows across
Prominent porch with classical detailing
Dutch Colonial Revival
Gambrel roof (See Page 5)
City of Anaheim Architectural Style Guide I 4 American Colonial Revival Roofs
Common Roof Types
Side gable Hipped Clipped gable Gambrel (seen on Dutch Colonial sub-styles)
Common Roof Features
Gable end roof vent Eave return
Cornice molding
Boxed eaves
Roofing
Wood shingle roofing laid in a traditional, overlapping Composition shingle roofing laid in a traditional, pattern overlapping pattern
City of Anaheim Architectural Style Guide I 5 American Colonial Revival Cladding and Foundations
Cladding Wood clapboard and brick are the most common types of cladding for American Colonial Revival buildings. Wood shingle, wood shiplap, and stucco cladding are less common.
Wood clapboard siding Wood shiplap siding Wood shingle siding
Brick cladding may be painted or unpainted Stucco cladding, sand/float finish Wood clapboard siding profile (dimensions and overlap vary)
Foundations The foundation walls of American Colonial Revival buildings may be covered in wood clapboard or brick cladding matching the rest of the buildings’ exterior, or they may be exposed concrete.
Foundation walls matching the rest of the building exterior
City of Anaheim Architectural Style Guide I 6 American Colonial Revival Chimneys and Dormers
Chimneys American Colonial Revival chimneys are most often made of brick. The chimney may be interior or located on the side façade.
Exterior brick chimney, side Interior brick chimney, center Interior brick chimney, side façade
Dormers When present, dormers (windows that project vertically from a sloping roof) are often located on the front façade of American Colonial Revival buildings.
Gable roof dormer Dormer extending below the Multiple dormers roof line on the façade (known as a wall dormer)
City of Anaheim Architectural Style Guide I 7 American Colonial Revival Entrances
Common Entrance Types
Entrance stoop Recessed entrance stoop
Projecting porch supported by columns Projecting porch
Double-height entrance porch Double-height entrance porch
City of Anaheim Architectural Style Guide I 8 American Colonial Revival Doors
Common Door Types American Colonial Revival door features: • Made of wood • Sometimes partially Fanlight glazed • Decorative metal hardware (typically Sidelights iron, but may be a lighter metal such as bronze or brass) • Often have paneling • Often have Decorative decorative metal surrounds and/or hardware sidelights/fanlight
Paneling
Fanlight
Partially Paneling Compatible wood glazed screen door design Sidelights
City of Anaheim Architectural Style Guide I 9 American Colonial Revival Doors
Common Door Surrounds American Colonial Revival buildings typically have centered front doors with surrounds embellished with classical elements.
Entablature
Pilaster
Triangular pediment Arched overdoor panel (known as a fanlight if it has glass)
Pilaster
Broken pediment (open at the top) Decorative molding
Fanlight
City of Anaheim Architectural Style Guide I 10 American Colonial Revival Windows
Common Window Types American Colonial Revival window Shutters features: • Nearly always made of wood, and in rare instances made of steel (typically commercial examples) • Often double-hung and multi- light • Sometimes flanked by fixed shutters
Six-over-six double-hung window
Muntins (which create divided lights)
Six-over-one double-hung One-over-one (single- window light) double-hung window
City of Anaheim Architectural Style Guide I 11 American Colonial Revival Windows, Awnings, Window Screens, and Shutters
Common Window Types (Continued)
Hood (may be metal or clad in shingles)
Bulkhead (typically brick)
Bay window
Awnings, Window Screens, and Shutters
Metal- framed screen
Wood shutters
Awnings should be triangular in shape and made of fabric. Awnings should not be installed if historic shutters are present. Window screen frames may be wood or metal painted to match window trim. Shutters should be made of wood.
City of Anaheim Architectural Style Guide I 12 American Colonial Revival Decorative Elements and Lighting
Common Decorative Elements
Tuscan Ionic capital capital (with volutes/ scrolls) Pilaster (rectangular Square column Round columns column attached to the wall)
Stringcourse (horizontal band of bricks or plaster Dentils (small rectangular blocks under a cornice or roof eave) typically between the first and second stories)
Pediment (a triangular-shaped feature either in the roof gable end (left) or above a window/door (right)
Exterior Lighting American Colonial Revival light fixtures vary in scale, are made of metal with a dark or light finish, and may feature elaborate ornamentation.
Wall-mounted light Wall-mounted light Hanging light above Hanging light at front next to front door next to front door front door porch
City of Anaheim Architectural Style Guide I 13 American Colonial Revival Paint Color Schemes
American Colonial Revival houses usually have simple color schemes, painted with two to three colors. If clad in wood, the siding is typically painted white or a light neutral color, with a light color for windows and/or trim and a darker accent color for shutters and/or doors.
Cladding color
Darker accent color
412 W. Wilhelmina St.
**Please visit the Anaheim Heritage Center for more information on style-appropriate paint color schemes. Contact (714) 765-6453 to schedule an appointment.**
City of Anaheim Architectural Style Guide I 14 American Colonial Revival Garages
Garage Design and Location Garages associated with American Colonial Revival houses often retain some elements of the style, including side-gable roofs and wood or brick cladding. The garage may be detached or attached. Attached garages are typically associated with buildings from the 1940s onward.
Historic attached garage accessed by an asphalt driveway
Garage Doors The garage doors of American Colonial Revival houses were typically paired wood doors on earlier examples of the style (early 1900s through the 1930s), and single tilt-up wood doors on later examples (1940s onward). Doors may be unglazed or partially glazed (with windows).
Glazing
Wood tilt-up garage door Paired wood garage doors
City of Anaheim Architectural Style Guide I 15 American Colonial Revival Fences and Gates
Fences American Colonial Revival houses did not typically have front yard fences, and fences are generally discouraged. However, if a fence is necessary and/or desired, it should be painted wood. Brick, stone, or concrete fences/pillars should not be added unless documentation indicates one existed historically. Other fence materials are typically not appropriate/recommended. Front yard fences should be kept low and should not obscure visibility of the house.
Front yard fence, painted wood Historic painted wood fence with brick Side yard fence, painted pillars wood
Gates American Colonial Revival houses did not usually have gates. However, if a driveway or side gate is necessary and/or desired, it should be painted wood and match any existing (historically compatible) fencing that is visible on the property.
Driveway gate, painted wood Front yard gate, painted wood Side yard gate, painted wood
City of Anaheim Architectural Style Guide I 16 American Colonial Revival Additions and Accessory Dwelling Units
Additions and Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) (either attached or detached) should be placed near the rear of the property to minimize their overall visual impact on the building from the public right-of-way (sidewalk/street). New additions or related new construction should be differentiated from the original, but compatible with the historic size, scale, proportion, features, and materials of the house.
Additions
Front of Addition house Example of a historically compatible rear addition. The addition (circled) is minimally visible from the primary façade and is compatible with the historic house.
Accessory Dwelling Units If an existing historic garage is being converted into an ADU, the garage should: • Retain its overall massing and design features. • The garage façade that is visible from the public right-of-way should retain the original appearance of its intended use. • Original garage doors should be kept in place, with new entrances added at the side façade, not visible from the public right-of-way. • Non-historic garage doors may be replaced with a new door assembly (i.e. French doors), but original garage door openings should be retained.
City of Anaheim Architectural Style Guide I 17 Contact Information Anaheim Planning and Building Department 200 S. Anaheim Blvd., Suite 162 Anaheim, CA 92805 www.Anaheim.net/HistoricPreservation
Christine Nguyen, Associate Planner [email protected] (714) 765-4942
City of Anaheim Architectural Style Guide I 18